


No Longer a Fantasy

by hope_s



Series: Beautiful Trauma [13]
Category: Ocean's 8 (2018)
Genre: Dancing, Emotions, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Happy Ending, Heist Wives, Heistversary, Honeymoon, Internal Monologue, Kissing, Light Angst, Lou POV, Post-Canon, Shower Sex, Smut, Songfic, This is the soft ending you've all been waiting for., Wedding Night, criminals in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 12:33:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20975963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hope_s/pseuds/hope_s
Summary: They had discussed a honeymoon somewhere romantic and expensive, but it became clear very quickly that neither of them really wanted to leave New York. In the end, they simply forbade their friends from visiting for two weeks after the wedding.Happiness and permanence are concepts to which Lou is unaccustomed. It still aches a little to think about Debbie, as though her body can't quite forget all the time it had spent waiting and wanting. How often will she need to remind Debbie – to remind herself – that this is permanent and not some utopian figment of her imagination?But Debbie is there, and Debbie understands. There's nothing stopping either of them from making up for lost time...





	No Longer a Fantasy

**Author's Note:**

> P!nk: Beautiful Trauma  
(2017)  
Track 13 - You Get My Love
> 
> ...
> 
> While you were dreamin', I handed you all my fears  
My thoughtless decisions, turned into thoughtful tears  
What have I done? For the first time  
I blame myself
> 
> But you get my love, baby  
You get my love  
If there's only one thing about me that you can trust  
You get my love, baby  
You get my love  
Don't let my mistakes take that away from us  
You get my love
> 
> ...
> 
> The light comes in, the dawn is risin' now  
You opened up your eyes  
Once again I have to risk it all  
The time is now
> 
> ...
> 
> (Spring 2019)

Lou couldn’t sleep. Beside her, Debbie was dead to the world – a soft tangle of lithe limbs and unruly strands of hair that had fallen out of her messy bun to curl around her ears. The lights outside the window were dim, but it was just bright enough for Lou to make out the sharp contours of Debbie’s face, which was half-turned towards Lou on her pillow. She had fallen asleep caressing Lou’s fingers against her chest, and Lou hadn’t removed her hand after Debbie’s arms had finally gone limp and heavy. One of Debbie’s hands still rested loosely over Lou’s, pressing Lou’s palm gently against her bare skin as she slept. Lou could feel the beating of her heart and the rise and fall of her lungs – so simple, so perfect.

Perhaps it wasn’t that Lou _couldn’t_ sleep; perhaps it was that a part of her didn’t _want_ to. They had already wasted so much of the time they could have spent like this. It broke her heart – just a little, just _enough_ – to think of all the years they had spent together (but not _together_) and all the years they had spent apart. There was a part of Lou that wanted to watch Debbie fly, to watch her take on the world. There was also a part of Lou – a selfish, small part – that wanted to hold onto her and never let go. Sometimes, it was hard to remember that she could do both, that she could fly _beside _Debbie, _with _her. Lou flexed her fingers against Debbie’s chest, pressing her fingertips lightly into her skin. She could feel the outlines of Debbie’s upper ribs disappearing under the soft curve of each breast. Lou’s hand fit perfectly on Debbie’s sternum like it always had – like it always would.

“Why didn’t we see this sooner, Jailbird?” Lou whispered. Only about half the words were actually audible. “Why didn’t we do _this _sooner?” she asked even more quietly, tapping the ring finger of her left hand very lightly against Debbie’s chest and watching what little light was in the room reflect off the opals and gold of her matching engagement ring and wedding band. The finger felt heavy with the weight of the past twenty years. Lou knew what Debbie would say if she were awake, knew that she would say something reassuring or something funny that would snap Lou out of this wistful mood. But Debbie was asleep, and it was the dead of night, and Lou’s brain seemed very much fixed on feeling woeful. She buried her face in her pillow, her forehead just brushing Debbie’s shoulder, and felt hot tears burning behind her eyes and a tightness in her chest. It was too much. _Too much_.

Lou wanted a cigarette, though she had quit almost a year ago. Maybe it wasn’t really the cigarette she wanted, but the excuse to step outside and breathe and have something to do with her hands. Debbie’s warmth and beauty were overwhelming, and Lou felt her pulse racing. She pushed herself slowly into a sitting position and slid her hand off Debbie’s chest. Taking a deep breath, Lou looked down at Debbie’s face once more and felt a lump rise in her throat. How could they possibly have gotten here? Sometimes, it was still so unbelievable. She leaned over and pressed her lips to Debbie’s hairline.

“I’ll be back in a bit, honey,” Lou whispered, noting vaguely that she was really saying the words to herself. Debbie trusted that she would always come back; it was _herself_ she needed to convince. She _had_ forgiven herself, knew that her reasons for leaving all those years ago had been legitimate and right. Still, there were granules of guilt and self-doubt that rose to the surface of her mind at moments like these, moments in the dark when her exhausted brain couldn’t rationalize them away.

Lou slipped from the bed and pulled on a pair of boxers from the top of her drawer. Moving as soundlessly as possible, she wrapped her old plaid robe around her shoulders and left the room with a loving glance in Debbie’s direction. Walking made her feel better immediately, bringing her back to reality – a reality where she and Debbie were together, where she and Debbie were _married_. _We really fucking did it_, Lou thought. _We really did. _The lower floor of the warehouse was remarkably clean, given the fact that they had hosted their wedding reception here only the night before. Tammy – bless her heart – had insisted that Debbie and Lou couldn’t be responsible for cleaning up after everyone, so she had taken it upon herself to gather the dishes, straighten the couch cushions, and pack up the leftover food. Only Debbie and Lou’s glasses remained unwashed on the counter next to the empty bottle of champagne, which was quaint and domestic in a way that made Lou’s head spin and her mouth twitch into a self-indulgent smile.

Lou poured herself a glass of water from the tap before letting herself out of the front door and across the darkened street to the beach. The water of the bay was almost completely still, waves lapping no louder than breath against the shore. She leaned against the cinder block wall and watched a boat move slowly towards the mouth of the Hudson River in the distance, its green starboard light blinking dully through the night. Happiness and permanence were concepts to which Lou was unaccustomed, and she wasn’t exactly sure how to get used to it. It still ached a little to think about Debbie, as though her body couldn’t quite forget all the time it had spent waiting and wanting. How often would she need to remind Debbie – to remind _herself_ – that this was permanent, that she had no intention of ever leaving again? How long would it take for her soul to believe that this reality was the truth and not some utopian figment of her imagination?

The cool glass of water and the gentle ripple of the waves finally calmed Lou’s nerves, letting her drift into an exhausted sort of peace. She sighed and pushed herself away from the low wall, walking back towards the loft. Upstairs, Debbie was still sleeping soundly. It seemed to Lou that she had barely moved at all. The room was chilly, and Lou realized that walking outdoors in bare feet on a cool spring night meant that her toes were almost numb. She threw her robe haphazardly across the end of the bed beside Debbie’s and slid under the covers, nestling close to Debbie’s warmth and listening to her steady breaths. Her head came to rest next to Debbie’s left shoulder, and she sighed deeply, waiting for sleep to wash over her. 

“You’re like a fucking _icicle_,” Debbie whispered out of the darkness.

Lou started slightly; Debbie had given no indication of being awake. “Sorry I woke you,” she said, nuzzling Debbie’s neck and kissing her jaw.

“I swear to God, your nose is an ice cube,” Debbie murmured through a yawn. She turned onto her side to face Lou and groped for her hands in the darkness, warming Lou’s fingers between her palms. “Where did you go?” she asked after a moment, drawing Lou closer to her chest and resting her chin on the top of Lou’s head.

“Down to the beach, just for a few minutes,” Lou replied quietly. “Needed some air. It…it’s…” She groped for what she wanted to say, and Debbie waited patiently. “It’s…overwhelming,” Lou said finally.

“What is?” Debbie asked softly.

“Remembering…” Lou swallowed hard. “Remembering that this…that this is real.” She felt Debbie press a kiss into her hair.

“I know.”

“Yeah.” Lou felt sleep weighing down her eyelids. She yawned again.

“Did it help?”

Lou nodded against Debbie’s chest.

“Good.” She pressed another kiss to Lou’s head. “Hey, baby?”

“Mm hmm?” Lou responded almost inaudibly.

“I know you’re not going to leave again, okay?” Debbie’s tone was casual and calm, but the words flooded Lou with relief. Hearing the words from Debbie’s lips meant _everything_. 

Lou released all the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding against Debbie’s chest. 

“That’s what’s bothering you, isn’t it?” Debbie asked. She sounded as though she was trying not to sound _too _pleased with herself. 

“Yes,” Lou replied at once, kissing Debbie’s chest. “I think so, I…” She trailed off.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Debbie whispered, leaning back far enough for a moment to kiss Lou’s forehead before tucking her chin on top of Lou’s head once more and combing her fingers through Lou’s hair.

“No, I’m not,” Lou mumbled sleepily. “I’m not.” She felt Debbie’s fingers become clumsier with oncoming sleep as they passed through her hair. Her own breaths deepened. Debbie was warm, and Debbie was _home_. Lou slept in her arms.

**

“Lou.” Debbie’s voice sounded very far away, drifting between trees and across oceans.

**

“_Lou_.” The voice was closer now, whispering in Lou’s ear. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and then stroke down her arm.

**

“Baby…” Debbie’s sing-song voice cut through the last traces of Lou’s dream, and she blinked her eyes open to see Debbie’s face an inch from hers.

“What time is it?” Lou mumbled, though she didn’t actually care. The whole day stretched before them, the first day of their two weeks alone in the loft. They had discussed a honeymoon somewhere romantic and expensive, but it became clear very quickly that neither of them really wanted to leave New York. In the end, they had decided to simply forbid their friends from visiting for the two weeks after the wedding.

Debbie shrugged. “No idea. I just got bored waiting for you to wake up.” She intertwined her legs with Lou’s and rolled her hips towards her.

“Bored or horny?” Lou teased.

“Bit of both, really,” Debbie replied conversationally.

Lou smirked and slipped her left hand between them, inching slowly down Debbie’s chest and over her stomach. Debbie sighed and hummed happily, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around Lou’s shoulders to pull her closer. Lou drew lazy patterns over Debbie’s hips and inner thighs, pleased at how her muscles twitched in response. Debbie was already hot and wet under Lou’s palm when she finally rubbed through her arousal.

“How long have you been awake?” Lou asked, tilting her head to whisper the words against Debbie’s cheek.

Debbie rolled her hips into Lou’s palm. “Long enough, baby,” she said breathlessly.

“Seems like it.” Lou nipped at Debbie’s shoulder as she slid inside her. Debbie gasped and bit her lip.

“You make me so wet,” Debbie murmured as Lou began to move her fingers.

“So wet,” Lou agreed. She felt Debbie open even wider for her as she took a deep, shaky breath and relaxed into the sensations. “You want more?” Lou asked, pressing both fingers as deep as possible into Debbie.

“Yes,” Debbie replied. Lou pulled her fingers out almost all the way and tucked a third finger in beside them. Debbie groaned and rolled her hips to pull Lou into her.

Lou hummed a small laugh in response to Debbie’s enthusiasm. “I love you, Debs,” she whispered, stroking her fingers purposefully inside her.

“You feel…” Debbie interrupted herself with a soft cry. “You feel s…so good…inside me, baby…_fuck_…so good…” Her eyes were squeezed shut and a soft blush was appearing on her cheeks. Lou felt her trembling, and not for the first time, she found herself in awe of how quickly Debbie could work herself to a climax when she wanted to.

“You want anoth—?”

“_Yes_,” Debbie interrupted Lou’s question.

“You’re so good for me, honey,” Lou whispered as she pulled out briefly to tuck her pinky against her other three fingers. Debbie moaned as she slid back into her and gasped when Lou spread her fingers slightly inside her.

“_Lou_,” Debbie said shakily. “_Fuck_, Lou, so good.” Lou felt her beginning to tighten around her, and she slid herself even deeper, pressing and massaging slow circles. Debbie panted and ground herself against the heel of Lou’s hand.

“Come for me,” Lou murmured with a soft kiss to Debbie’s cheek. Debbie’s lips parted as she came, and the sight of it sent a thrill through Lou’s body. “I’m so fucking lucky,” Lou said, almost to herself, as Debbie pulsed and quivered around her fingers. Debbie whimpered in response, and Lou felt a final wave of wetness against her palm. At last, Debbie was still, and she blinked her eyes open lazily.

“I married you, baby,” Debbie whispered in a rough voice still heavy with arousal. Lou nodded and kissed her. Debbie sighed into her mouth. It was blissful, and Lou’s chest ached with the closeness. She didn’t have words for this. She felt tears on her cheeks and tasted salt before breaking their kiss to come up for air. To her surprise, her own tears were also reflected in Debbie’s eyes.

“Don’t go getting all watery on me, Jailbird,” Lou said, brushing her thumbs under Debbie’s eyes.

Debbie blushed. “I’m not, baby,” she insisted, though her voice shook slightly. “You’re just crying _on_ me.”

“That is a goddamn lie, _Deborah_,” Lou muttered in a thick voice, trying to sound irritated.

Debbie frowned and shook her head stubbornly. “Not crying.” She tried to stifle a sniffle in her pillow.

Lou rolled her eyes and sat up. “Yes, you are, and if you want to talk about it, I’ll be in the shower.” She stood up and tossed a suggestive grin over her shoulder at Debbie, who glared at her until she turned away. Nevertheless, as soon as Lou reached the bathroom, she heard a sigh from Debbie and the rustling of blankets. Two seconds later, Debbie joined her by the sink and placed her rings on the counter next to Lou’s. Lou quirked an eyebrow at her in the mirror, and Debbie rolled her eyes. Under the warm spray of the water, Debbie leaned into Lou and let her massage shampoo into her hair. Lou didn’t push her; she knew Debbie would talk if she needed to, and touch had always been a sort of language between them – something that couldn’t be faked even after years of lying to survive. Debbie rinsed her hair and took the shampoo from Lou, gesturing for her to turn around. Lou obliged and closed her eyes as Debbie’s fingers caressed her scalp.

“Do you…” Debbie began and then stopped. Lou heard her swallow hard. “Do you ever worry that we…” She trailed off again. Lou leaned into her slightly, encouraging. “Sometimes…I feel like we’ve wasted so much time,” Debbie said finally. Her voice was low, as if she were telling Lou a secret in the middle of a room full of eagerly listening ears, rather than in an intimate moment where there was no one to overhear them.

Lou thought hard before answering. “Yes,” she said finally, “I feel like…” She turned to Debbie and ducked her head under the water, watching the foam of the shampoo fall between their bodies. “I feel like it’s hard for me to remember that I’m…happy,” she said carefully. “I’m so used to…to _wanting_…” She cleared her throat. “…to wanting _you_, without…”

“Yeah,” Debbie said, tilting Lou’s head up and out of the water. “Me too.”

Lou smiled fleetingly as Debbie passed her the conditioner. Debbie looked more thoughtful than sad now, and Lou brushed her lips across Debbie’s cheek to the corner of her mouth. Debbie gasped and sighed as though she had been startled out of a deep thought.

“What else, Debs?” Lou asked softly.

Debbie shrugged. “I’m the last Ocean,” she said bluntly. “I always thought Danny would…you know…”

Lou knitted her brow, nonplussed. “Uh…know what?”

“Oh,” Debbie said, looking slightly concerned by Lou’s apparent confusion. “I just always assumed he’d be the one to carry on the…” She cleared her throat. “…the name…you know?”

Lou sighed, understanding at last. “You mean kids?”

“Yes.” Debbie looked hard at her, as if challenging her to scoff. 

Lou didn’t scoff. “Do you _want _kids, Debbie?” She asked the question in a steady, firm voice, though she was sure that Debbie could probably hear the hammering of her heart and sense the surprise in her voice. 

Debbie passed her right hand between their bodies to rest against both of their lower abdomens. The gesture carried such weight and purpose that it made Lou tremble slightly. She could practically see the thoughts racing behind Debbie’s eyes. “No,” Debbie said finally, “but I think…”

“You think you should?” Lou prompted.

Debbie shook her head. “No,” she said with surety. “No, Lou, I…” She swallowed hard and tilted her head with a curious and concerned expression settling into her features. “I think I _would _have…with you…if we were…” Debbie squeezed her eyes shut. “If we hadn’t…”

_If we were younger; if we hadn’t wasted so much time_, Lou’s mind finished Debbie’s half-formed thoughts. “Oh, God, Debbie,” she said aloud. Her voice shook, and she wrapped her arms tightly around Debbie, hugging her close under the warm water. Debbie was still and relaxed – no longer crying – but Lou herself was shaking. “I’m sorry,” Lou said at last, her mouth moving against the skin just under Debbie’s left ear.

“It’s not your fault, baby,” Debbie said quietly, “It’s not mine, either, though I _was _an idiot for not realizing how I felt about you, but still, it just…is.”

Lou clung tighter and took several deep breaths. She had never thought about it before, not seriously anyway. She didn’t see herself as the motherly sort, and she didn’t really see Debbie like that either. It wasn’t them. Maybe it was better this way – to have that chance fade away. And yet…Debbie’s words echoed in her mind: _I _would_ have, with you. I would have…with _you_. Would have…with you…_with_ you…with you. _

“Would you have wanted to…?” Lou started to ask as she released Debbie and began rinsing conditioner out of her hair. She let the end of the question fade, unsure whether or not Debbie really wanted to talk about this, but curious all the same.

Debbie looked relieved that Lou was no longer crying, and she shrugged in response to the question. “Maybe. I think I would have been the most obnoxious pregnant person on the planet, but…maybe.”

Lou grinned, though she felt a pang through her heart at the thought of Debbie carrying their child…_Oh, God, _their_ child_. “Yeah,” she agreed, taking a deep breath to temper the surge of emotion. “You would have been terrifying.”

“What about you?” Debbie asked conversationally, though her eyes seemed to be burning, and Lou suspected that her body was feeling the emotion of the conversation as much as Lou’s was.

Lou tried to imagine it. She reached out and entwined her fingers with Debbie’s, pressing them to the skin below her navel. It felt foreign and strange to consider it – overwhelming. “I…don’t know,” she said finally, loosening her hold on Debbie’s fingers. 

Debbie nodded understandingly and then sighed, leaning against Lou and tilting her head into the spray of the water. Lou watched her, mesmerized by the way the water ran off Debbie’s skin. For a second, Lou let her mind wander, allowed some kind of alternate reality to flash before her eyes: a generic-looking fertility clinic, a pregnancy test, resting her ear against Debbie’s abdomen to _wait _and to _listen_, a child that looked a little like each of them (though that would be a stroke of luck to rival all others, she knew that, but _still_…).

“I know it’s a lot to think about,” Debbie said, interrupting Lou’s thoughts. 

“Yeah,” Lou agreed, “it is. How long have you been…?” She leaned against the wall of the shower, and Debbie moved to stand between her legs.

“Thinking about it?” Debbie shrugged. “Not long. Tammy’s kids were here a few weeks ago, and I realized that I’d always assumed Danny would have one, or a few, and I just…” She sighed. “I’m too fucking old to be getting all…” She gestured at her eyes, which were – Lou noticed – slightly watery once more.

“It’s _weird_ to think about it,” Lou said quietly, basking in the warmth of Debbie pressed against her.

“Mm hmm,” Debbie murmured into Lou’s neck.

A jumble of words fell from Lou’s mouth before she could stop them. “You would have been beautiful, Debbie…I mean, you’re beautiful anyway…always, _and_ I think pregnant _you_ would have been…a force to be reckoned with, which you already are, but…”

“Thanks, baby,” Debbie said through a half-laugh, cutting across Lou’s disjointed thoughts. She leaned in and kissed Lou on the cheek.

Lou sighed. “It’s more than enough to have you, though, Debs. It’s…it’s more than I ever thought I’d have.”

“I know.”

“And I’m not going to waste a second of it again,” Lou said firmly, tracing Debbie’s cheekbones with her fingertips.

Debbie smiled and raised her hands to cup Lou’s jaw, running her thumb under Lou’s bottom lip. “Me neither, baby,” she said softly, leaning in to ghost the words over Lou’s lips. “Me neither.” Debbie shifted slightly as she captured Lou’s mouth with hers, and her thigh pressed between Lou’s legs. Lou stifled a gasp against Debbie’s lips, unsure whether the pressure was intentional, but the glimmer in Debbie’s eye when they came up for air was enough to tell her that it was.

“Not wasting time,” Lou repeated, shaking her head and smirking at Debbie.

“Never again,” Debbie said, raising her eyebrows and tilting her head as she slid her right hand between Lou’s legs.

“You better not, honey, or we’ll run out of hot water,” Lou teased breathlessly, parting her legs and letting her shoulders slide down the tile to give Debbie a better angle for her wrist. Lou felt Debbie spreading slickness between her thighs that was quite separate from the wetness of the shower. She tipped her head back and rested it against the tile, surrendering to Debbie’s gentle touch. 

Debbie licked over Lou’s exposed throat and slid two fingers into her. Lou groaned and gripped Debbie’s shoulders. The emotion that had built in her chest was rapidly translating itself into intense arousal, and after a few well-aimed thrusts of Debbie’s hand, she could already feel her legs shaking. Debbie’s other hand ran up Lou’s side and kneaded her right breast, letting the nipple pass between her fingers. The sensation shot directly between Lou’s legs, and she ground herself against Debbie’s fingers and thigh, feeling her climax already coiling tightly in the pit of her stomach. She could hear herself whimpering and panting, could feel the soft whisper of Debbie’s breath against her cheek, and she thought of the way Debbie’s eyes had shown last night on the stage at the club when she had slid the simple wedding band onto Lou’s finger. Her release washed over her without warning, and Debbie leaned into her.

“That’s it, baby,” Debbie murmured in Lou’s ear. “That’s my girl…my girl…” Lou’s knees shook in the aftershocks, and she slid slowly down the tile wall. Debbie sank down with her, removing her fingers from Lou as she did so, and curled herself into Lou’s lap, planting kisses across her face. Lou laughed softly, and Debbie pulled back to look at her, arms clasped around Lou’s neck.

“You really would have wanted to…you know…have a kid with…with me?” Lou asked, searching Debbie’s face. The question had been burning in her for many minutes now, but it was only in the wake of her orgasm that she found herself able to ask.

Debbie smiled, and her eyes softened. “Yeah, of course,” she murmured, twisting Lou’s bangs around her finger. “It was always you, baby, and if I had realized that, well…yes, I would have.”

Lou smiled and felt herself blush, unable to think of any suitable response. 

The water began to cool, and Debbie pulled Lou to her feet. “Come on,” she said, “I’m not finished with you, but let’s get something to eat first.”

“I love you,” Lou said, wrapping her arms around Debbie from behind as they left the shower. Debbie paused with her hand on a towel and twisted in Lou’s arms to face her, throwing the towel around both of them. She looked deeply into Lou’s eyes, jaw working over words that Lou knew were difficult for her to get out. “It really means something,” Lou went on, saving Debbie from trying to respond right away. Debbie looked at her quizzically. “That you would want that…with me…I…” She trailed off, and Debbie waited. “Thank you,” Lou finished perfunctorily. It didn’t come close to encompassing everything she felt, but there would be plenty of time to find better words later.

Debbie smiled, looked away coyly for a moment, and then returned her gaze to Lou’s. “You’re welcome,” she said matter-of-factly. “I…love you,” she added softly, passing Lou her rings from the counter and slipping her own back on her finger. Lou smiled and felt her stomach swoop as she pushed the gold around her ring finger once more.

**

The next day – the first Monday in May – Lou awoke to a steaming cup of tea on her bedside table and a copy of the New York Times being shoved roughly into her face.

“Look at the style section,” Debbie urged. Lou could tell she was grinning, though she couldn’t see her from behind the newspaper blocking her vision.

“What the hell, Debs,” Lou groaned, shaking the paper off of her head and sitting up.

“Just look at it.”

“…why?”

Debbie rolled her eyes and ripped the paper open to the appropriate section, glaring at Lou as her fingers worked deftly over the pages. “_Camp_,” she said finally, holding out the article and looking meaningfully at Lou.

Lou’s eyes widened. “That’s the theme? _Jesus_, Anna’s really branching out.”

Debbie grinned over the rim of her own mug of tea. “Knew you’d appreciate it.”

“You would’ve had to wear a very different dress, Debs,” Lou said, scanning the article with mild interest before folding the paper neatly and setting it aside.

“You – on the other hand – would’ve blended in _remarkably _well,” said Debbie. 

Lou winked. “I know. I probably inspired this whole thing.” 

Debbie rolled her eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

Lou frowned in mock-thoughtfulness and raised her mug of tea in Debbie’s direction. “You’re right. That’s why I have you.”

“So…” Debbie said, looking at Lou with a penetrative, side-long glance.

Lou raised her eyebrows at Debbie. “So…what?” She blew on her cup of tea.

“_So_…it doesn’t seem right to waste those outfits for another whole yea—”

“We are _not _going to the Met Gala, Debbie. I don’t care how much money we have. That place was a _zoo_. I’m not—”

“Shh,” Debbie hissed, putting a finger to Lou’s lips. “I’m not an idiot, Lou. I just thought maybe we could…you know…” Debbie tilted her head meaningfully towards the door of Lou’s closet.

Lou sighed. “The whole point of _literally _barring the doors of this place for two weeks was so that we wouldn’t have to wear clothes.”

“I wore clothes yesterday,” Debbie replied with a shrug.

“Lingerie does _not _count. That was for _my _benefit.”

Debbie winked and sipped her tea. “In that case, don’t you think we could make an exception in this case for _my _benefit?” she reasoned.

“You’re serious?”

“I’m always serious.”

Lou stuck her tongue in her cheek to disguise her grin, considering Debbie over her cup. “Okay,” she said with a shrug.

“Okay…what?” Debbie prompted slyly.

Lou gave her an over-dramatic sigh. “I’ll wear the outfit.”

**

“When did you do all this?” Lou asked as Debbie tugged her by the hand out onto the roof.

“All what?” Debbie asked innocently, looking over her shoulder at Lou. Her black and gold dress glittered in the light of at least two dozen paper lanterns strung between poles in the corner of the rooftop.

Lou rolled her eyes and fidgeted with the cuff of the green Armani jumpsuit. “_Debbie_…”

“Fine,” Debbie said, holding up both hands. “I did it last night while you were asleep.”

Lou noticed the ever-so-slightly frantic cadence of Debbie’s words and narrowed her eyes at her. “No, you didn’t.”

Debbie groaned in frustration. “Okay, okay. I asked Constance. The woman _really _likes a bribe, and I don’t really do, well, _romance_, so…” She shrugged. 

Lou grinned and pulled Debbie into her chest, hands settling on Debbie’s lower back. “It’s nice, honey,” she murmured, leaning down to kiss Debbie’s cheek. Debbie had foregone her stilettos, but Lou hadn’t felt right wearing the jumpsuit without the matching platform heels. Besides, she liked the extra height, and she knew Debbie did, too. Debbie leaned her forehead into Lou’s chest and sighed as though she had been nervous that Lou wouldn’t appreciate her grand gesture.

“There’s wine,” Debbie mumbled, though she made no effort to extract herself from Lou’s embrace.

“Yeah?” Lou glanced towards the center of the pool of light and noticed a mini-fridge plugged into an extension cord, a rug, and a few embroidered cushions. Constance had done well.

“Not wasting time,” Debbie said in a muffled voice.

“Is that what this is about?” Lou asked, surprised. She had always appreciated Debbie’s dramatic edge, but romance – as Debbie had said – wasn’t really her forte.

Debbie pulled away and nodded, not quite meeting Lou’s eyes.

“Debs…”

“Wouldn’t be here without you, baby,” Debbie said, “and before we start the next job…” Debbie cleared her throat and glanced up at Lou. Lou smiled and waited, thinking about their summer plans. “…before we start the next job,” Debbie went on, “I just…just wanted to do something…something…” She trailed off.

“Something romantic?” Lou supplied with a grin.

“Yes.” Debbie smiled, running her fingers over the fur collar of Lou’s jumpsuit and down the edge of the plunging neckline. “You deserve it.”

“I would’ve thought that the whole getting married thing would’ve met your romance quota for at least the next five years,” Lou teased.

Debbie didn’t reply, but she grinned and tossed her head to flip her hair out of her face. She took a step back from Lou and turned to walk towards the mini-fridge. Lou followed her and sank down onto the rug with her elbows propped on one of the cushions behind her. Debbie settled next to her and passed her a glass of white wine.

“Cheers,” Lou said, clinking her glass against Debbie’s before sipping the wine. The flavor burst on her tongue, calming the butterflies in her stomach. Perhaps it was the dressing up, or the uncharacteristic display of affection from Debbie. Perhaps it was the thrill of knowing that their lives stretched ahead of them, or the fact that it was finally starting to catch up to her that they were _married_. Lou felt giddy, as though Debbie were a crush that she had been dying to talk to, dying to kiss. Her whole body was alert to Debbie’s movements.

“What are you thinking about?” Debbie asked softly, reaching out to push a few strands of Lou’s hair into place.

Lou almost jumped at the fiery sensation of Debbie’s fingertips against her temple. She looked at Debbie and took a deep breath, taking in every detail of _her_. Debbie’s hair hung in loose waves around her shoulders. Her make-up was dark and dramatic, just as it had been at the Gala last year. She looked dignified and important even as she leaned back casually next to Lou on the cushions and crossed her bare feet at the ankles.

“Baby?” Debbie asked, tilting her head curiously and searching the expression on Lou’s face. The lanterns reflected like stars in her eyes.

Lou cleared her throat in an attempt to clear her thoughts, but everything except Debbie was blurry and insubstantial. “Thinking about you,” Lou answered finally, voice deep in her chest.

Debbie blushed and dropped her gaze to her wine glass as she took a sip. There was a pleasant tension in the air, and Lou didn’t want to break it – not yet. She resisted the urge to lean over and kiss Debbie, to press her back onto the rug, to run her hands under the layers of her skirt, to…Lou took a sip of wine to steady herself as heat throbbed between her legs. _Not yet_.

“What are you thinking about, Debs?” Lou asked finally.

Debbie tilted her head back and looked up at the lanterns above them. “Everything,” she said, a little sheepishly.

“Am I a part of that?” Lou asked cheekily, nudging her shoulder into Debbie’s.

“Oh, baby, you’re top of the list,” Debbie replied at once, nudging her back.

Their faces were closer together now, eyes darting and testing. Debbie’s lips parted as her gaze dropped to Lou’s mouth and back to her eyes. Lou felt her thoughts slow to a crawl, and she reached forward to set her wine glass on top of the mini-fridge, out of the way. She reached for Debbie’s, too, and Debbie’s fingers trembled as Lou took the wine from her and set it aside. Settling back on her elbows, Lou turned to face Debbie once more and let herself drown in her dark eyes. She was barely aware of Debbie leaning into her, and when their lips brushed it took a moment for her brain to catch up. How could something this familiar – something they had shared a hundred, a thousand times – feel so different, so new? Lou wondered. The gentle pressure of Debbie’s lips wasn’t enough to dispel the tension between them, and Lou didn’t hurry the moment. She reveled in the liminal space between heat and catharsis. They had all the time in the world.

In a rustling of fabric, Debbie sank onto her side, and Lou followed her. She brought the hand not trapped beneath her to Debbie’s waist, pulling her closer. Debbie’s fingers nestled at the back of Lou’s head, tugging gently every so often and deepening the kiss. Lou’s head spun, and her limbs felt heavy and warm. After uncounted minutes, Lou pulled away, breathing heavily and leaning her forehead against Debbie’s.

“Dance with me?” Lou whispered.

“Wh-what?” Debbie stammered, a laugh in her voice.

“I’m serious, Debs.” Lou was careful not to let even a hint of doubt into her voice.

“Lou, I don’t…”

“Oh, stop. I know you know how,” Lou said firmly, smirking at Debbie. “You’ve had to do it for a job at least a dozen times, and we’re _alone_ now, honey – it’s not like the wedding. Come on. Dance with me.”

Debbie bit her lip, and Lou raised her eyebrows at her. “Okay,” Debbie said finally with a shrug.

Lou smiled and pulled Debbie to her feet. She was unsurprised to find that Constance had hooked up a decent set of speakers under one of the poles holding the lanterns. She plugged in her phone and handed it to Debbie with a purposeful nod. “Just one song,” she said, reassuringly. “Your choice.”

Debbie cracked a smile, and nodded back. Lou could see the tension in her hands dissipating as her fingers danced over the screen of the phone, and there was a light in Debbie’s eyes when she pressed play and stood up to take Lou’s hands in hers.

“What’d you choose?” Lou asked, settling Debbie’s hands on her shoulders and passing her own slowly down to Debbie’s waist.

“Beethoven,” Debbie replied softly, “the Moonlight sonata, just the first movement, it’s…well…” She shrugged. “It’s a little cliché, but I like it.”

It wasn’t _happy_, Lou noticed, as the music washed over them, but it seemed to hold potential and promise. The music ebbed and flowed, and Lou felt Debbie’s hands relax on her shoulders. She swayed on the spot, and Debbie moved with her, her dress rustling over the concrete rooftop. Debbie’s fingers drifted to Lou’s neck, pressing delicately against sensitive skin. Lou felt her own fingers twitch around Debbie’s waist, and she let them sink lower to her hips. She rubbed her thumbs in slow circles, rumpling the fabric of Debbie’s dress, and Debbie’s eyelids fluttered.

“Lou…” she whispered.

“Kiss me,” Lou replied, dipping her head to ghost the words over Debbie’s lips.

Despite the slow pattern of the music, the tempo of the kiss increased rapidly. Lou tugged on Debbie’s bottom lip with her teeth, and Debbie moaned as she parted her lips. Lou ran her tongue behind Debbie’s teeth, tasting wine. She forgot about the pretense of dancing, though the music still wrapped around them like a veil – present and fragile. Debbie trembled in her arms as Lou stroked her sides, up to the bodice of her dress. They stumbled back towards the cushions, and Lou lowered Debbie onto them with much less grace than she had intended. Debbie didn’t seem to care. She laughed softly and pulled Lou over her. Lou smiled and swept Debbie’s hair to one side, burying her face in her exposed neck and sinking her teeth into the skin just enough to coax a whine from Debbie’s throat. Lou could feel the warmth of Debbie’s palms through the fabric of her jumpsuit as they moved over her stomach and ribs, and when her hands finally slid under the neckline onto her bare breasts, the touch felt like fire. She sat back on one of Debbie’s thighs and pulled her upper body free from the confines of the jumpsuit. The pace of Debbie’s breathing increased, eyes darting to Lou’s breasts and tongue flicking out to lick her lips.

“Want you,” Debbie muttered as she leaned up to take Lou’s left nipple in her mouth, grasping none-too-gently at her flesh, massaging and caressing as her tongue flicked and curled. Lou felt a swell of wetness between her legs.

“_Fuck_, Debs,” she murmured, running the fingers of her left hand over the back of Debbie’s head while her right hand found her opposite nipple, twisting and tugging until it matched the pebbled hardness of the one in Debbie’s mouth. Lou fumbled desperately with the zipper on the side of Debbie’s dress, and Debbie’s hands fell to Lou’s hips, pushing the green-sequined fabric down her thighs. For a minute or so, Lou joined Debbie in a different sort of dance – the push and pull of fabric moving to reveal warm skin, the ache to _touch_. At last, in a tangle of limbs and sequined cloth, they collapsed naked onto the cushions. The music faded, replaced by the soft sound of lips on flesh, of quiet moans in the night.

Lou sank herself onto Debbie’s searching fingers just as her own passed into wet heat. Their mingled gasps were lost in the night breeze passing around them, soothing flushed skin. The glorious tension that had built between them throughout the evening finally broke, and Lou felt her body move around and into Debbie in a celebration of familiarity and trust. They strained against each other as they had twenty years before in Lou’s darkened apartment on their very first night together, as they had a thousand times since then. Lou felt the coil of desire in her core begin to unravel.

“Together?” she gasped to Debbie.

“T…together,” Debbie replied breathlessly, arching into her.

Warmth spread through Lou’s body like lightening just as Debbie tightened around her fingers. She heard her name on Debbie’s lips, as soft as breath. Words passed like water over her own tongue, falling into Debbie’s mouth as she leaned down to kiss her once more: “You’re mine. I love you. I’m _yours_.”

“You’re _perfect_, baby,” Debbie murmured as her breathing steadied and her body relaxed completely onto the rug.

“You’re beautiful,” Lou replied, fingers toying with a lock of Debbie’s hair that had draped itself across her breast. Debbie shivered and whimpered as Lou’s fingertips grazed her over-sensitive nipple. Lou saw goosebumps rising on her arms and on Debbie’s chest as the chill of the night air finally caught up with them.

“Here,” Debbie said, tugging a large, maroon blanket from somewhere and pulling it over both of them like a tent. The lights of the lanterns filtered through the fabric, bathing both of them in a soft, reddish glow.

“You really thought of everything,” Lou said, settling on her side and stroking Debbie’s shoulder. 

“I wish I could say that the details were mine, but that was all Constance,” Debbie confessed in a whisper. “All I told her was that I wanted a nice set-up for you on the roof on the night of the Met Ball. To be honest, I don’t even know when she did it.”

“How much did you pay her?” Lou asked.

“Oh, she doesn’t take money anymore,” Debbie explained, moving as close to Lou as she could under the blanket. “I had to ‘thumbs-up’ all two-hundred of her videos on YouTube and create fifteen fake fan accounts to like and comment on her Instagram posts.”

Lou snorted with laughter. “_Jesus_, Debs, you really must love me.”

“Mm hmm.” Debbie smiled and leaned forward to kiss Lou’s nose. “Something like that.” Debbie tucked her head under Lou’s chin, and Lou pulled her close. Their breath warmed the enclosed space under the blanket. Lou knew that Debbie was awake, but it meant something to be able to hold the silence together. It was peaceful – _perfect, _really. She listened to the traffic, smelled the briny tang of New York Harbor, felt the beating of Debbie’s heart alongside her own. What seemed like a long time later, the temperature dropped further and the hard concrete beneath the rug became uncomfortable.

“Let’s go in?” Lou asked quietly.

Debbie nodded, yawning as she pulled away from Lou at last. “Constance said she’d clean everything up tomorrow.”

Lou gathered their things quickly, her naked skin complaining at the loss of Debbie’s warmth from her side. Debbie stood wrapped in the blanket, gazing up at the barely-visible stars. Lou saw her eyes darting between them – measuring, memorizing, categorizing.

“Come on, honey, I’m freezing,” Lou said, kissing her temple, arms full of their Met Gala outfits and the wine from the fridge. Debbie smiled and followed her back into the mercifully warm loft, trailing the blanket behind her like a cape. She took the clothes from Lou and went to hang them in their garment bags while Lou brought the wine down to the kitchen and put it in the fridge. Joining Debbie in front of the bathroom mirror a few minutes later, Lou considered their reflections.

“Do you think we always would have gotten here?” Lou asked as she picked up a facewipe and began removing her makeup.

Debbie paused mid-way through braiding her hair, narrowing her eyes as she considered Lou’s question. “You mean no matter what? Like…destiny?”

Lou shrugged. “Not really, I just…” She cleared her throat. “…I can’t picture myself – my life – without _you_.”

Debbie smiled thoughtfully and continued braiding her hair. “No,” she said finally, “No, I think we had to work damn hard to get here, baby.” She smirked at Lou in the mirror and pulled the box of makeup wipes towards herself across the countertop. “I know I did,” she added. “All those years of…of…” She trailed off, and Lou knew they were both thinking about two decades spent dancing around one another rather than _with _one another. “I think I like reminding myself that I’m _choosing _this,” Debbie went on pensively, folding the makeup wipe over to use a fresh section on her thick eyeliner. 

“Choosing me?” Lou asked softly.

“Choosing you.”

There was a weight to that, Lou thought, because Debbie Ocean didn’t choose anything on a whim. For that matter, neither did she, and Lou savored it – savored _them_. That night, with Debbie spread over her like an extra blanket, Lou felt herself drifting off to sleep easily. The missed opportunities – the what if’s, the should have’s – were reduced to insubstantial phantoms. They would appear again – she knew that. Those wistful anxieties and well-worn fears would not be easily overcome. But for tonight, this reality held not a shred of doubt. This was no fantasy, no fairy-tale, no tantalizing dream. Instead, the truth of it was simple, sharp, and dazzlingly sweet. Lou was Debbie’s; Debbie was hers. And that was that.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the song with all the lyrics:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K2XEAIghx8
> 
> Here's a link to the first movement of L. van Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata (Piano Sonata No. 14):
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT7_IZPHHb0
> 
> ***
> 
> Thank you so much for coming on this journey of a series with me! I didn't know how to end it when I wrote this, so that's why this last chapter is longer than the others - needed to tie up a lot of loose ends. 
> 
> If you want more in this headcanon, be sure to check out my other works. "A Dream Itself is but a Shadow" follows the end of this series nicely, picking up the following summer during their Honeymoon Heist. ;) 
> 
> I'm also currently posting a multi-chapter canon divergent AU, if you're interested in that. There will definitely be more headcanon to come in the future, too! 
> 
> As always, much love to go_get_your_top_hat, the Lou to my Deb in every way. <3 
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @estel-of-irysi. :)
> 
> I appreciate all of the kudos and comments I receive! Please don't be shy!


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